UPDATED: Majority of flood evacuees in Kootenay-Boundary allowed to return home

Much needed good news kept on coming to the flood-ravaged Kootenay-Boundary region on Sunday as most of the area’s evacuees got word that they could return home.

As of 9:30 p.m., 2,000 were no longer under evacuation order in Grand Forks, Christina Lake and the surrounding areas.

Among the returning evacuees were around 750 in Grand Forks itself.

The first wave of residents were allowed to return to the city’s downtown by mid-morning Sunday.

“They were some of the ones that were clearly unaffected by flood waters,” emergency operations centre information officer Frances Maika said.

“Our goal is to, by the end of the day tomorrow (May 21) to have the majority of people who have been on evacuation order back in their homes or businesses. That’s most of those 3,000.”

Just before 5 p.m. Sunday, another 415 properties at Christina Lake, 20 kilometres east of Grand Forks, had their evacuation orders rescinded.

At around 9:30 p.m., 98 properties South Ruckle, one of the hardest hit neighbourhoods in Grand Forks, as well as 42 homes east of the Grandby and Kettle rivers were downgraded to evacuation alerts.

As hundreds of people people prepared to return to their homes, officials warned them that they were still on evacuation alert and should remain ready to leave again.

About 1,000 people remain under evacuation order as of late Sunday night.

Dan Derby, the head of the emergency operations centre, said that the goal was to have Grand Forks’ downtown “open for business” come Tuesday morning.

This is what Grand Forks’ downtown looks like this morning, as residents and the regional district pump water out of buildings. As the threat of rising water recedes, streets – and thoughts of recovery – have begun to surface. #BCFloods2018@BlackPressMediapic.twitter.com/SnsmNKEdN7

Officials say that although the sandbags themselves rot too quickly to be re-used, the sand will won’t be sent to the landfill.

As residents got wind of the recovery efforts, they came out in droves to take stock of what remained.

“Thank you for all you do!” yelled one man.

“First thing’s first, thank you for you every kindness, your physical and emotional strength. This just reminds us why we live where we live,” read a sign on the side of one previously-flooded building.